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One Strange Marvel Team Up
My good pal at Heroes West Coast suprised me last week with some pictures of a truly rare item that I could not afford to own. This display of Marvel Comics "Action Figures" (most of us would call these Jigglers) is both wonderful and well, odd. The assortment on the front kind of proves that, these characters have little to do with one another and it's a merchandising first for two of them.
Ben Cooper was well known for doing Jigglers of popular comic book characters before, the Spider-Man in this assortment was a staple of my childhood, so it's no surprise that in 1980 they chose to expand on their Marvel Universe characters. However, the Red Skull and Doctor Strange are odd choices, you can argue the Thing is an A Lister but is he bigger than the Hulk?
Finding the loose figures of these can be pricey, there isn't a pile of Doctor Strange stuff out there so he's a coveted commodity. It's pretty unheard of to find a display box of these characters.
It's possible that the focus of these characters is based on their previous television exposure, Strange had a 1978 TV movie, Captain America had two Red Skull free movies in 1979 and the Fantastic Four had an animated series the same year. That must be the connection.
It's possible that the focus of these characters is based on their previous television exposure, Strange had a 1978 TV movie, Captain America had two Red Skull free movies in 1979 and the Fantastic Four had an animated series the same year. That must be the connection.
Ben Cooper also used the same character assortment for their Halloween offerings that year, the addition of a Captain America costume seems to add more sense to the Red Skull being here. It's still confusing as to why Cap, a heavy hitter for Marvel was absent for this figural assortment.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy this stuff got made, it's about time some B players got some merch, I'd just love to know how it came to be.
More Ben Cooper with the 1980 Catalog
For more Fashion Mockery and 70's toy love visit us at Plaid Stallions.comDon't get me wrong, I'm happy this stuff got made, it's about time some B players got some merch, I'd just love to know how it came to be.
More Ben Cooper with the 1980 Catalog
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